Jin (mass)

The jin () or catty (from Malay kati) is a traditional Chinese unit of mass used across East and Southeast Asia, notably for weighing food and other groceries. Related units include the picul ( or ), equal to 100 catties, and the tael (), which is of a catty. The stone (also or ) is a former unit used in Hong Kong equal to 120 catties, and a gwan () is 30 jin. The catty is still used in Southeast Asia as a unit of measurement in some contexts, especially by the significant Overseas Chinese populations across the region, particularly in Malaysia and Singapore.

The catty is traditionally equivalent to pound avoirdupois, formalised as 604.78982 grams (g) in Hong Kong, 604.5 g (historically) in Vietnam, 604.79 g in Malaysia and 604.8 g in Singapore. In Taiwan,Weights and Measures in Use in Taiwan from the Republic of China Yearbook – Taiwan 2001. Japan, Korea, and Thailand, the unit is rounded to 600 g. In China, the is rounded to 500 g and called the market jin (; ), to distinguish it from the kilogram (called the common jin; ; ), and is subdivided into 10 taels rather than 16.

History In ancient China, the office of Sima () was in charge of military affairs. Because the management of military grain and fodder involved frequent weighing, mass units (such as and ) were also called (), , and so on. The measuring tools used were called sima scales (). This is still true in Hong Kong. One is equal to sixteen , which is where the idiom "half a jin vs eight liang" comes from.

+ size throughout Chinese history Dynasty Mass in grams Pre-Qin 250 Qin 253 Western Han 248 Eastern Han, Three Kingdoms, Jin 220 Northern and Southern dynasties Sui dynasty 661 (large system), 220 (small system) Tang dynasty 661 Song dynasty, Yuan dynasty 633 Ming dynasty, Qing dynasty 590

The mass of the varies between different eras and regions, but its ratio to contemporaneous units is generally unchanged: one is equal to sixteen , or 1/120 of a dan. Starting from the late Qing dynasty, the was also written in English as catty or kan based on the Malay name for the unit.

Before the Qing dynasty, various regions and industries in China had their own weight standards for and liang. During the Qing, unified weights and measures were implemented. One late-Qing jin was 596.816 g according to the Beiyang government, and equal to 16 liang.

China

1915 measurement law

On 7 January 1915, the Beiyang government promulgated a measurement law to use the metric system as the standard but also a system based directly on Qing definitions (), with the as the base unit.

+ Chinese mass units promulgated in 1915PinyinCharacterRelative valueMetric valueImperial valueNotesháo3.7301 mg0.0001316 ozlí37.301 mg0.001316 ozcashfēn373.01 mg0.01316 ozcandareenqián3.7301 g0.1316 ozmace or Chinese dram137.301 g1.316 oztael or Chinese ounce16596.816 g1.316 lbcatty or Chinese pound

Mass units in the Republic of China (1930–1959)

On 16 February 1929, the Nationalist government adopted and promulgated The Weights and Measures Act to adopt the metric system and limit the updated Chinese units of measurement to private sales and trade, effective 1 January 1930. The updated market units are based on rounded metric numbers, and jin is the base unit. + Mass units in the Republic of China (1930–1959)PinyinCharacterRelative valueMetric valueImperial valueNotessī312.5 μgháo3.125 mglí31.25 mgcashfēn312.5 mgcandareenqián3.125 g0.1102 ozmace or Chinese dramliǎng31.25 g1.102 oztael or Chinese ounce1500 g1.102 lbcatty or Chinese pounddàn10050 kg110.2 lbpicul or Chinese hundredweight

Mass units since 1959

On June 25, 1959, the State Council of the People's Republic of China issued the Order on the Unified Measurement System, retaining the market system, with the statement of "the market system originally stated that sixteen liang is equal to one jin. Due to the trouble of conversion, it should be changed to ten liang per jin."

+ Chinese mass units since 1959PinyinHanziRelative valueMetric valueImperial valueNoteslí50 mgcashfēn500 mgcandareenqián5 g0.1764 ozmace or Chinese dramliǎng50 g1.764 oztael or Chinese ounce1500 g1.102 lbcatty or Chinese pounddàn10050 kg110.2 lbpicul or Chinese hundredweight

Legally, 1 jin equals 500 grams, and 10 liang equals 1 jin (that is, 1 liang is 50 g). The traditional Chinese medicine measurement system was unchanged.

Mass units in traditional Chinese medicine Until 1979, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) generally kept the division of 16 liang to 1 (500-g) jin. In 1979, the State Council of China issued an order for the TCM trade to switch to metric units. The previously used qian was to be treated as exactly 3 g, with other units derived from the liang scaled accordingly. Mass units in ancient TCM prescriptions should be interpreted using the metric (gram) conversions appropriate for the era, not the modern versions of these units.

Taiwan

The jin, or kin, in Taiwan is called the Taiwan jin or taijin (). The taijin is equivalent to the Qing-era Chinese jin. In 1895 Taiwan was ceded to Japan, which implemented the metric system, but Taiwan continued to use the old weights and measures. Thus, after China stopped using the Qing system, it came to be known as the Taiwan system. 1 taijin is 600 grams, or 16 Taiwan liang, and 1 Taiwan liang is equal to 37.5 g.

+ Taiwanese units of massUnitRelative value Metric US & ImperialNotesTaiwanese HokkienHakkaMandarinCharacterLegalDecimalExactApprox. Lî Lî Lí kg 37.5mg lb 0.5787grCash; same as Japanese rin Hun Fûn Fēn kg 375mg lb 5.787grCandareen; same as Japanese fun Chîⁿ Chhièn Qián kg 3.75g lb 2.116drMace; same as Japanese momme () Niú Liông Liǎng 1 kg 37.5g lb 21.16drTael Kin or chin Kîn Jīn 16 kg 600g lb 1.323lbCatty; same as Japanese Tàⁿ Tâm Dàn 1600 60kg lb 132.3lbPicul; same as Japanese tan

Hong Kong and Macau Hong Kong and Macau mass units According to the original Hong Kong law, Article 22 of 1884, one is British pounds (that is, 3 is equal to 4 pounds). Currently, Hong Kong law stipulates that one is equal to one hundredth of a dan or sixteen liang, which is 0.604 789 82 kilograms (0.604 789 82 kg divided by is 0.453 592 65 kg, the 1878 definition of the British Avoirdupois pound).

+ Mass units in Hong Kong and MacauJyutpingCharacterEnglishPortugueseRelative valueRelation to next largest Chinese unit (Macau)Metric valueImperial valueNotes lei4 li, cash liz condorim fan1 fen, candareen (fan) condorim maz 0.2133 dr cin4 qian, mace (tsin) maz tael 2.1333 dr loeng2 liang, leung, tael tael cate 1.3333 oz 604.78982 / 16 = 37.79936375 gan1 jin, kan, catty cate 1 pico 604.78982 g 1.3333 lb Hong Kong and Macau share the definition daam3 dan, tam, picul pico 100None 60.478982 kg 133.3333 lb Hong Kong and Macau share the definition

Hong Kong troy units These are used for trading precious metals such as gold and silver, defined around the British troy weight system.

+ Hong Kong troy mass unitsEnglish nameChinese nameRelative valueMetric valueImperial valueNotes fen (candareen) troy 374.29 mg 0.096 drt qian (mace) troy 3.7429 g 0.96 drt liang (tael) troy 1 37.429 g 1.2 ozt

Malaysia and Singapore Malaysia has similar regulations as Hong Kong, as it was also a former British colony. The rounding is slightly different, a catty (or jin) is 0.604 79 kg. Similarly, Singapore law stipulates that one catty is also equal to 1 pounds, or 0.6048 kg.

Japan

+ Japanese units of mass*UnitKanjiMetricUS & ImperialRomanisedKanjiLegalDecimalExactApprox. Mō or kg 3.75mg lb 8.267μlb Rin kg 37.5mg lb 0.5787gr Fun kg 375mg lb 5.787grMommeMonme kg 3.75g lb 2.116dr Hyakume kg 375g lb 13.23oz Kin kg 600g lb 1.323lb Kan(me) () 1 kg 3.75kg lb 8.267lb Maru 8 30kg lb 66.14lb Tan or 16 60kg lb 132.3lbNotes: Exact figures follow the 1891 Law of Weights & Measures and 1959 International Yard and Pound Agreement. Metric values are exact. US and Imperial approximations are rounded to four significant figures. In Japan, 1 jin, or kin in Japanese, is equal to 600 grams, but is rarely used. An exception is the jin used for slices of bread. According to the fair competition regulations of the Japanese Bread Fair Trade Council, a jin only needs to be more than 340 g.

Korea The base unit of Korean mass is the . At the time of Korea's metrication, however, the (or Korean pound) was in more common use. The is usually considered equivalent to 600g. The also sees some use among Korean traditional Chinese medicine vendors.

Korean romanizationKoreanEnglishEquivalentsRRMROtherGwan.Other namesMetric (customary)HoHo()MoMo()RiRi(/)PunP'unBunPun()DonTonMommeNyangNyangRyang Yang()Korean ounceTaelGeunKŭnKeun Kon()Korean pound (meat), (other)Jin, catty (meat), (other)GwanKwan()1

Vietnam In Vietnam, the jin is called the (), and is equal to 604.6 grams. The following table lists common units of mass in Vietnam in the early 20th century:

+ Early 20th-century Vietnamese units of mass Name in Chữ Quốc ngữ Hán/Nôm name Traditional value in kg Traditional equivalent Modern value Modern equivalent tấn 擯 604.5 kg 10 tạ 10 tạ quân 302.25 kg 5 tạ 500 kg obsolete tạ 榭 60.45 kg 10 yến 100 kg 10 yến bình 30.225 kg 5 yến 50 kg obsolete yến 6.045 kg 10 cân 10 kg 10 cân cân 斤 604.5 g 16 lạng 1 kg 10 lạng nén 378 g 10 lạng lạng 兩 37.8 g 10 đồng 100 g đồng or tiền 錢 3.78 g 10 phân phân 分 0.38 g 10 ly ly or li 厘 37.8 mg 10 hào hào 毫 3.8 mg 10 ti ti 絲 0.4 mg 10 hốt hốt 忽 0.04 mg 10 vi vi 微 0.004 mg

Notes: The cân ('scale') is also called cân ta ('our scale') to distinguish it from the kilogram (cân tây, 'Western scale').

Jin, pound and kilogram The jin, pound and kilogram are all currently used in China. Their meanings and conversions in China are as follows: (Chinese jin; lit. 'market jin'''): Or simply called jin, also called Chinese pound. In the market system () in use since 1930, 1 jin equals 500 g, equivalent to 1.1023 pounds. (kilogram, lit. 'common jin'): A metric unit, equivalent to 1000 g. (pound): A British Imperial unit, about 453.6 g.

Society and culture

Etymology The word catty comes from Malay kati, meaning 'the weight'. It has also been borrowed into English as caddy'', meaning a container for storing tea.

Chinese idioms wikt:幾斤幾兩 () wikt:半斤八兩 () wikt:缺斤少兩 () wikt:斤斤計較 ()

Gallery

Jin (mass)

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